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. 2017 Jul 5;5(7):e91.
doi: 10.2196/mhealth.7208.

Continuous Monitoring of Vital Signs Using Wearable Devices on the General Ward: Pilot Study

Mariska Weenk  1 , Harry van Goor  1 , Bas Frietman  1 , Lucien Jlpg Engelen  2 , Cornelis Jhm van Laarhoven  1 , Jan Smit  3 , Sebastian Jh Bredie  3 , Tom H van de Belt  2
Affiliations

Continuous Monitoring of Vital Signs Using Wearable Devices on the General Ward: Pilot Study

Mariska Weenk et al. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Measurement of vital signs in hospitalized patients is necessary to assess the clinical situation of the patient. Early warning scores (EWS), such as the modified early warning score (MEWS), are generally calculated 3 times a day, but these may not capture early deterioration. A delay in diagnosing deterioration is associated with increased mortality. Continuous monitoring with wearable devices might detect clinical deterioration at an earlier stage, which allows clinicians to take corrective actions.

Objective: In this pilot study, the feasibility of continuous monitoring using the ViSi Mobile (VM; Sotera Wireless) and HealthPatch (HP; Vital Connect) was tested, and the experiences of patients and nurses were collected.

Methods: In this feasibility study, 20 patients at the internal medicine and surgical ward were monitored with VM and HP simultaneously for 2 to 3 days. Technical problems were analyzed. Vital sign measurements by nurses were taken as reference and compared with vital signs measured by both devices. Patient and nurse experiences were obtained by semistructured interviews.

Results: In total, 86 out of 120 MEWS measurements were used for the analysis. Vital sign measurements by VM and HP were generally consistent with nurse measurements. In 15% (N=13) and 27% (N=23) of the VM and HP cases respectively, clinically relevant differences in MEWS were found based on inconsistent respiratory rate registrations. Connection failure was recognized as a predominant VM artifact (70%). Over 50% of all HP artifacts had an unknown cause, were self-limiting, and never took longer than 1 hour. The majority of patients, relatives, and nurses were positive about VM and HP.

Conclusions: Both VM and HP are promising for continuously monitoring vital signs in hospitalized patients, if the frequency and duration of artifacts are reduced. The devices were well received and comfortable for most patients.

Keywords: continuous monitoring; remote sensing technology; vital signs; wireless technology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ViSi Mobile system (left) and HealthPatch (right).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Included patients and vital sign measurements.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bland-Altman plots: (a) heart rate (VM and HP), (b) respiratory rate (VM and HP), (c) systolic and diastolic blood pressure (VM). Dotted lines indicate mean difference and solid lines indicate limits of agreement.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Bland-Altman plots showing modified early warning score: (a) VM and HP, (b) VM and HP (jittered). Dotted lines indicate mean difference and solid lines indicate limits of agreement.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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